


Watchful Waiting

by myleftsock



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Banter, Flirting, Fluff, Innuendo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27742426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myleftsock/pseuds/myleftsock
Summary: Dying is easy, but Death is not.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 124





	Watchful Waiting

Thanatos waits. He traces the curve of his scythe with one finger, closer and closer to the blade, as if there isn’t work to be done. 

The anticipation doesn’t stem from fear, that sinking, draining pull like a phantom in his immortal veins. No, this is yearning, sparks beneath his skin, a heat he can’t muster on his own. 

Fear comes when he’s needed, but yearning comes when he  _ needs. _ Both are messy, complicated, and more wonderful than he ever imagined.

And as long as he doesn’t get caught, he can wait for just a moment longer, until—

_ Than! _

His cue.

Yearning shocks his spine and he moves, weapon at the ready, to find Zargreus bathed in viridescence, surrounded by...

“There’s nothing here.”

“Nothing?” Zagreus feigns petulance. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“Nothing to vanquish,” Thanatos clarifies needlessly. 

“Don’t be so sure.” Zagreus steps closer. Millions of souls gathered for Hades and none have eyes like that. Now, he turns those low, bold eyes toward Thanatos. “My back remains tragically intact.” 

Ah. _Ah_. Could Thanatos blush, he would. He stifles the sentiment. Elysium, paradise though it may be to some, is hardly the place.  _ That _ is best saved for private moments, further from the prying eyes of nosy gods and shades. The thought is tempting, he can’t deny, but… 

“I thought you had more self control than this.” Thanatos crosses his arms. “Had I known you’d abuse the power, I never would have given Mort to you.” 

Zagreus shakes his head and draws nearer still. “You may be the first to overestimate my abilities.” 

“Your abilities were never in question,” Thanatos reminds him. “I help you because the odds are stacked against you here.” 

“True, and you have my undying gratitude. But there’s more than one way to help me, Than.” Zagreus is close enough to touch him now. “Morale is flagging.”

“Morale?” Blood and darkness, he’s so embarrassing. “Is that what you call it?”

It’s a game of sorts, though they both know he’s going to give in. Still, Zagreus had to earn it. Dying is easy, but Death is not. 

Zagreus hooks a finger under his tunic, warm skin against cool. His touch leaves an invisible trail, one Thanatos knows will linger for hours, long after they part. He’s fire incarnate. Not scorching. More like a hearth. Home. 

“Say the word and I’ll be good,” Zagreus promises. “But half the fun of getting into trouble is knowing you’re watching.”

He knows Thanatos too well, because somewhere along the way, sometime after Zagreus left and returned, this became fun—as much as life and death can ever be. Fitting. 

Enough games. He seizes Zagreus’s hand. “There’s more than one way to be good, Zag.” 

Zagreus’s body simmers on, but his eyes and smile blaze hot. A worthy distraction, Thanatos tells himself, and always, always worth the wait. 

**Author's Note:**

> just trying to get a feel for character voices, don’t mind me


End file.
